Top PerformersMokiao-Atimalala, Ikenaga stepped up in wins

Male Athlete of the Week: Titus Mokiao-Atimalala, Campbell footballNo player has recorded more receiving yards in the state than Campbell's Titus Mokiao-Atimalala.

The sophomore wide receiver has been a study in consistency this season, recorded at least two catches in all nine of the Sabers games in 2018. That trend continued in a big way over the weekend, when Mokiao-Atimalala hauled in 10 catches for a season-high 169 yards with two touchdowns to help fourth-ranked Campbell to a 28-0 road win over No. 10 Kapolei Saturday night.

"He's showing a lot of good things," Sabers coach Darren Johnson said of the 6-foot-1, 160-pound Mokiao-Atimalala.

Johnson noted that Mokiao-Atimalala played both wide receiver on offense and safety on defense.

"He really didn't ever leave the field," Johnson said. "Him being on the field for the amount of plays that he played was amazing because it's like he never runs out of juice, never runs out of gas and every play he just puts out. He just plays hard every play. He's amazing. We've got a lot of good skill (position) kids and a lot of other guys that make plays, but he's a special athlete."

Mokaio-Atimalala's first TD reception Saturday came just minutes into the game. He hauled in a short pass from quarterback Krenston Kaipo and sprinted down the sideline on the 69-yard score. The same duo hooked up on a 12-yard TD pass to culminate the Sahers' opening drive of the second half, which gave them a 21-0 lead.

"I think the thing that really impressed me the most is how humble he is. He's just a regular happy-go-lucky kid that's always pushing to get better. It's funny because when we get on our athletes, he'll be the one telling them, ‘hey, it's OK. Don't take it personal, man. I get mine, too,' " Johnson said.

After playing his freshman season at nearby Kapolei, Mokiao-Atimalala — along with his older brother, Tamatoa — transferred in to Campbell and quickly endeared themselves to their new teammates.

"They came in with the attitude that ‘I want to be better. I want to be the best guy on the field and I want to work harder and I want to show the coaches that I'm coming here to contribute and be positive' and not to be a letdown to the friends around them, and to the teachers, show them that they're coming here for all the right reasons," Johnson said of the brothers.

"He works hard and even in practice he gets reps on both sides of the ball and there's about four of our kids that do that. The every day work ethic, the offseason workouts, the things he does to be prepared is what makes him special. Having himself ready and keeping himself healthy, doing the right things. He probably goes to bed on time; he's just doing all the little things right," Johnson said.

And then there's his competitiveness.

"I think he expects himself to go out there at a young age as a sophomore, to be a leader, to be something special. He wants to be the guy, he wants the ball in his hands," Johnson said. "He loves playing football. He hasn't missed practice at all — not even for being sick or anything — he just loves being out there. He loves the game and he loves the competition."

For the season, Mokiao-Atimalala has posted 54 receptions for 983 yards and 10 touchdowns — all team-high marks. Johnson said he has already received a scholarship offer from the University of Hawaii and expects to see many others enter the picture for his services soon.

"I'm real happy for the young man all the effort he puts in. We're lucky to have good kids that try to be good leaders, which is always nice to have," Johnson said.

The win over the Hurricanes helped Campbell (6-3 overall, 3-1 league) lock up the second seed in the Oahu Interscholastic Association Open Division playoffs.

"It secured the that playoff spot for us so it was a big win and I mean, it's your crosstown rival so you always want to win that one and just knowing that Kapolei is a really good football team, too. They played everyone in the conference down to the wire and we knew that it could be a game where anybody could win because Kapolei has a good coaching staff and talented players, so it was a good win for us," Johnson said.

Mokiao-Atimalala and the Sabers close out the regular season at Waianae Friday night.

Female Athlete of the Week: Tayli Ikenaga, Moanalua volleyballDespite some lofty expectations, it's safe to say that Tayli Ikenaga has lived up to her billing in her two seasons with the Moanalua girls volleyball team.

The outside hitter earned Second Team All-Oahu Interscholastic Association Eastern Division honors as a freshman last season and done well to build upon that success in her sophomore campaign this year.

Ikenaga turned in a Herculean effort Thursday night, putting down 24 kills and coming up with 27 digs — both match-high marks — to go with two service aces and one set assist in a five-set win over Waianae in the quarterfinals of the league tournament. The scores were 23-25, 25-20, 25-19, 21-25 and 15-12.

"She did everything for us," Na Menehune coach Alan Cabanting said of Ikenaga. "She served tough on the sets that we won. She was really getting Waianae out of system with her serving and that made them very predictable with where they were going with the ball, and then when Waianae was able to get it through the block, she was in the back row digging left and right and it allowed us to set up our defense and pass a ton of balls."

Ikenaga put the finishing touches on the thrilling postseason match with her back-row kill for the night's final point.

"What impressed me most was just her being steady and how in the biggest moments she was able to come up big," Cabanting said. "I told my setters that (Ikenaga) ‘wants the ball and I know she is not going to ask for it as aggressively as she should be, but let's go ahead and set her the ball. When she's in the front row, she's got to get every set and she was able to exploit the block and it really put Waianae on their toes."

The win put Moanalua, the No. 2 seed out of the Eastern Division, back into this week's ScoringLive/Hawaiian Electric Power Rankings at the tenth spot, but more importantly, it secured a spot in the Division I state tournament.

"It was really big for us," Cabanting said. "It was one where we knew it was going to be a tough match. We knew Waianae was going to come to play and so mentally the two seniors that were there were focused in. Even though we only have two seniors, it seems like we're playing with three because Tayli is there and she steadies out the court and she came up with some really big plays in the match. Towards the end of the match, whenever she was in the front row we were primarily going to her."

Ikenaga is listed on the team roster at 5 feet, 10 inches, "but she's really only 5-6," Cabanting said.

Still, she plays bigger than her height.

"She's one of those individuals that needs to be on the court. Whenever things are going right or whenever things are not going right, she's got to be on the court," Cabanting said.

Before Ikenaga even joined the team last season, Cabanting said he had heard much fanfare about her.

"The funny thing is that when she was coming in, everybody was like, ‘she's going to be our go-to person, she's really good,' and I was like, ‘sure, OK. People have said that to me before and I was like, ‘that's OK. When she comes in, she comes in and we'll see from there,' but when she came we knew already that she was going to be a solid passer, her serves were really good, her defense was phenomenal and her hitting, it was a question of whether she could play with these big blockers," Cabanting said. "Her freshman year she was coming into a brand new team, but this year she's solidified herself and earned the respect of her teammates. A lot of the girls respect her and look up to her and they see how steady she is."

Cabanting said Ikenaga possesses a natural ability, along with a solid work ethic and a desire to improve.

"The first thing is the motivation; she's really motivated to get better," Cabanting said. "She just wants to get better, she wants to get stronger, she has that motivation to get better and whenever she messes up, she just gets back in there and tries to correct herself and her teammates see that and they rally around her. They want to play just as good and just as tough as she is playing."

Cabanting said playing beach volleyball has led to a craftiness in Ikenaga's arsenal of attacks.

"She sees the entire court and she knows where to hit it. Her shots are getting smarter, stronger and the hits she's getting this year have a lot more pace than she had last year. At the same time, the arsenal isn't full yet, so she's still learning different shots and learning to tool blocks. When she came in she just really surprised me. I didn't think she was going to be as talented as everybody said, but she was a starter for us as a freshman and she continues to go our go-to (hitter)," Cabanting said.

One of the intangible aspects of Ikenaga's game is her mental toughness that she brings to each practice and match — which was evident in a semifinal match Monday night against Mililani.

"Mililani was digging her, they were serving her, attacking her and she weathered the storm and she came back in the other sets and played well and it's just that mental toughness where somehow she knows as a young player when she has her droughts, but she's able to play through it and in the very end, I still trust that when we need to win, we're going to her," Cabanting said.

Ikenaga posted another double-double in the match with 20 kills and 23 digs as well as one set assist, but Moanalua fell short against the third-ranked Trojans in four sets.

Ikenaga and Na Menehune (11-3) claimed third place in the OIA tournament with a three-set win over No. 8 Kapolei Tuesday night. They will open state tournament play on Oct. 22.

AIR RIFLERYJosephine Lin, Moanalua — Shot a high score of 536.16 to help Na Menehune win the OIA girls team championship

Ryan Roche, Pearl City — Shot a high score of 562.21 to help the Chargers win the OIA boys team championship

BOWLINGCayde Agena-Shirai, Kalani — Rolled a high single-game total of 223 pins and a three-game series of 594 in an OIA East boys meet

Michael Thompson, Damien — Rolled a high single-game total of 242 pins and a three-game series of 569 in an ILH boys meet

Kai Yamada, Mid-Pacific — Rolled a three-game series of 617 pins in an ILH boys meet

CROSS COUNTRYAdam Harder, Hanalani — Finished the boys 5K race in a time of 17 minutes, 21.46 seconds to win medalist honors at the Punahou Invitational

Chloe Gangnath, Seabury Hall — Finished the girls 5K race in a time of 19 minutes, 50.86 seconds to win medalist honors at the Punahou Invitational

Hoku Cachola, Aiea — Had 20 assists and 14 digs in a three-set loss to Farrington

Vanessa Colling, Roosevelt — Had 15 kills, 19 digs, one ace and an assist in a four-set win over Nanakuli

Falanika Danielson, Mililani — Had 14 kills, 11 digs and a block assist in a three-set win over Radford

Bailey Darnell, Radford — Had 22 kills, 22 digs and two block assists in a three-set win over Castle and had 13 kills, 10 digs, one block assist and an ace in a three-set loss to Mililani

Leina Elwin, Roosevelt — Had 16 assists, 10 digs, four kills and two aces in a four-set win over Nanakuli

Mariah Fukumoto, Mililani — Had 14 kills, one kill and an assist in a three-set win over Radford

Christen Guzman, Waianae — Had 50 assists, 17 digs, three block assists, one kill and an ace in a five-set loss to Moanalua

Saryiah Kahakai, Farrington — Had 13 kills, 15 digs and one ace in a three-set win over Aiea

Cheylah Marfil, Nanakuli — Had 26 assists, 10 digs and three aces in a four-set loss to Roosevelt

Kristen McDaniel, Iolani — Had 40 assists, two kills, two block assists and two aces in a three-set win over Punahou

Elena Oglivie, Iolani — Had 24 kills, four block assists, one ace and an assist in a three-set win over Punahou

Kaanela Pae, Nanakuli — Had 25 digs, four aces and two assists in a four-set loss to Roosevelt

Lauren Pau-De Santos, Roosevelt — Had 16 kills, 16 digs and two block assists in a four-set win over Nanakuli and had 22 digs, eight kills, four assists, three solo blocks and a block assist in a three-set loss to Kahuku

Auryana Reyes-Roman, Radford — Had 16 digs and three aces in a three-set win over Castle and had 15 digs, seven kills and an ace in a three-set loss to Mililani

Manu Seei, Radford — Had 37 assists, 10 digs, two kills and a solo block in a three-set win over Castle

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